Method and apparatus for making pile fabrics



Sept. 19, 1944. A v. ASVICTOR A 2,358,368 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING PILE FABRICS I x I Fjled ApriL 18 1942 l 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS v. A; VICTOR 2,358,368

Filed April 18, 1942 7 Sheets-Sheet 2- f INVENTOR fiM/QW TI'ORNEYS,

Sept. 19, 1944.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAK'niG PILE FABRICS Sept. 19 1944. v, VICTOR I 2,358,368

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING PILE FABRICS Filed April is, 1942 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 .90 6 6/ 6f 12! 3- m 79v l w 8 "Iii-l 8 x6 r/f I Jay .3

{ I INVENTOR lcfar' A. V/cfor ATTORNEYS Sept. 19, 1944. v. A. VICTOR METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING FILE FABRiGS Filed April 18, 1942 av 44 A/d...) 1

I I I; I

INVENTOR Vie for ,4. Vie for BY 7vMz4/mA ATTORNEYS Sept. 19, 1944. v. A. VICTOR METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING FILE FABRICS 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 18 1942 Sept. 19, 1944. v. A. VICTOR METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING FILE FABRICS Filed April 18, 1942 "(sheets-sheets INVENTOR V/cfor ,4. V/cf0r ATTORNEYS Sept. 19, 1944. -v. A. VICTOR 2,358,368

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING PILE FABRICS Filed April 18, 1942 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTOR. V/cfor 14. V/cfar Patented Sept. 19, 1944 'METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING PILE FABRICS Victor A. Victor, Brooklyn, N. Y. Application April 18, 1942, Serial No. 439,579

21 Claims.

The invention relates to a method and to an apparatus for making a pile fabric or material constituted of a flexible backing upon which is deposited, in substantially upright position, any character of pile-forming material, and permanently embedded into an adhesive composition coating the flexible backing, whereby a wide variety of desired pile density and pile height may be secured with a uniformity of the pile and permanence not heretofore attained by methods and apparatus of the prior art. In accordance with the process of my invention, I am enabled to obtain a permanent securement of a pil formed-of fibers of practically any character, or

of any mixtures of fibers of different character, to a flexible backing, likewise of anycharacter, in which process the fibers are rigidly held in place during the deposition upon, or attachment to, the backing. In carrying out my novel meth- -od of making a pile fabric or pile material, as

the invention is not limited in its scope to the use of a backing material constituted of a fabric, no shearing whatsoever is necessary to secure an even surface and uniformity of the height of the pile. I

In carrying out the method of my invention, I utilize an apparatus of novel construction which deposits the pile-forming material in substantially upright position directly into a cementitious composition coating the flexible backing material. The apparatus includes a wide variety of novel attachments, elements and combinations of mechanism to attain this purpose and is char- It is a further object of the invention to pro- .vide such a method which is capable of being carried out with a degree of automatic operation,

precision, and speed'requirin g no more than the feeding into the apparatus, at the appropriate portions thereof, of the material which is to constitute the pile, a flexible backing upon which the pile material is to be deposited, and a quantity of the cementitious material with which the flexible backing is to be coated and into which the fibers of the pile material are to be deposited I and permanently secured. Upon the automatic processing of the material through my-novel apparatus, it is only necessary to subject the product issuing therefrom to a heating treatment effective to evaporat the solvent from the cementitious material to a point at which' the product at this intermediate stage may be carried through a vulcanizing chamber, if the adhesive is a rubber composition, and through any other means of fixing or setting the adhesive, if it is a thermoplastic or thermosetting composition, to

acterized by extreme precision and a capacity for adjustment to secure any desired degree of density of the pile-forming material and any desired height of the pile.

One of the objects of my invention, therefore, is to provide a method for making a pile material which resembles, to a most remarkable degree,

the uniformity, evenness of surface, and density of a natural pile material, such as an animal pelt, fur, etc.

' My invention, when applied in the fabrication of rugs, carpets, and the like, and in which case, the pile is formed of individual yarns or rovings of any appropriate character as to material and construction, produces a pile-product of extremeiy uniform pile density, height, and thickness.

Hereinafter in the specification and in the claims, for purposes of convenience, the expression yarns is used in a generic manner to cover in- 'dividual yarns, plied yarns, doubled yarns,

strands or rovings.

complete the pile fabric structur to its final marketable stage by the fixing or setting of the cementitious composition. Examples of the type of cementitious coating that may be used in accordance with my invention are a solution or dispersion of rubber, synthetic rubber, or any thermoplastic or thermosetting adhesive material, such as natural or synthetic resins, cellulose derivatives, and th like. I

I am aware that it has been heretofore suggested to produce pile fabrics by a method and means of an apparatus in which the pile element material is fed into place to be clamped into position, for instance by means of a pair of separators, severing a quantity of material from the pile element source conveying th severed sections into contact with a strip of backing material and embedding the mass of fibers in the coating of cement provided'upon the backing material. Such methods and apparatus, however, as hav been heretofore suggested, make use of extremely complicated apparatus and do not pro- .duce a material capable of competing with pile fabric made by other prior processes, for instance, by tufting apparatus, as in the fabrication of rugs and carpets, because a uniformity and. evenness of surface, a uniformity of density, and a uniformity of pile height is not capable of attainment by such prior methods and apparatus. Furthermore, such methods as have been heretofore suggested, do not produce a permanency of adhesion of the pile material to the backing such as is capable of attainment by my novel method and apparatus.

In its broadest aspects, the method and apparatus of my invention comprises the cutting of a stantially upright position, to evaporate the solvent therefrom and then setting or otherwise fixing the cementitious composition to firmly and permanently secure the fibers constituting the pile to the flexible backing. I

My novel method and apparatus may be utilized in forming a. pile material in which substantially any pile-forming material or any mixture or mixtures thereof may be used. Examples of such pile-forming material are wool, alpaca, cashmere, hemp, cotton or linen, silk or any artiflcial fiber, including the wide variety of artificial fibers such as viscose rayon, spun glass, etc. In the fabrication of carpets, rugs, and the like, in accordance with the method and apparatus of my invention, the pile-forming material is pref-.

erably constituted of individual yarns or rovings of th general character conventionally used in carpet and rug manufacture by well-known tufting processes. For the flexible backing there may be used linen, cotton, leather, or any artificial or synthetic material exhibiting a degree of flexibilit Tge present application is a continuation-inp rt of my copending application, Serial No. 240,285, filed November 1d, 1938.

A speciflc embodiment of an apparatus, constructed in accordance with my invention and suitable for carrying out my novel method, is

illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a schematic view of the three units suitable for fabricating a pile material in accordance with my invention, including the machine for applying the pile-forming material to the flexible backing in accordance with my invention, the solvent evaporator, and the vulcanizing chamber or oven, in which the pile material is brought to its final marketable stage; Fig. 2-is a general vertical cross-section through my novel apparatus; Fig. 3 is an end view of the machine taken approximately on the line 33 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail, insection, of the pile-forming mechanism taken substantially alon the line 4---t of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail of the pile-forming mechanism showing the jaws in another position, namely at the moment of deposition of the pile-forming material upon the backing; Fig. 6 is a plan view of the feed roll driving mechanism taken substantially on the line 68 of Fig. 2; Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail of the eccentric for adjusting the extent of feed of the pile material; Fig. 8 is a plan view of the card rolling driving mechanism; Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail of the'card wheel take-up mechanism substantially on the line 3-9 of Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a horizontal section showing the knife and upper jaw of the pile grasping and depositing mechanism; Fig. 11 is an enlarged detail of the trigger mechanism releasing the jaws upon deposition of the pile fabric material thereby upon the backing; Fig. 12 is a. diagrammatic showing of the feeding of a plurality of yarns 0r rovings which are to constitute the pile in the product.

Referring more particularly to the drawings,

in which similar reference characters identify similar parts in the several views, the general relation and character of the various elements constituting my novel apparatus are best illustrated in Fi 2. 'In such figure, I2 is the main frame upon which the machine elements are supported, the main driving element, an electric motor I3, being suitably disposed upon the frame below the pile-forming mechanism, the motor belt and maindriving pulley being shown in Fig. 1.

Extending upwardly at each longitudinal edge .of the main frame l2 are vertical steel plates it upon and between which the major portion of the pile-forming mechanism is supported. Rearwardly of the plates i 4 and substantially at the rear portion of the main frame l2 are disposed a pair of brackets I 5 supporting the coating head assembly. Such posting head assembly comprises a roll l3 over the surface of which travels.

the strip of flexible backing material I! to be coated with an adhesive composition into which the pile-forming material is to be embedded. Supported for longitudinal movement between the brackets I5 is a backing plate l8 carrying a coated knife [9. The backing plate, and therefore the coating knife carried thereby, is adjustable vertically within the brackets l5 by means of a threaded screw shaft 20 carrying a handwheel 2| at its upper extremity. A chute or hopper 22 is positioned rearwardly of the coating knife so as to have its lower edge in substantially juxtaposition with the upper surface of the flexible backing material passing over the surface of the roll IS. The cementitious composition if fed into the chute or hopper 22 and will be deposited upon the upper surface of the flexible backing material rearwardly of the coating knife i9 and will be.uniformly spread over the surface by such coating knife as thebacking material is advanced through the apparatus.

The pile-forming material, from a source not shown,enters the machine between a pair of rubberized fabric belts 23 and 24 intermittently advanced by means of rollers 25 and 26 carrying the belt 23 and rollers 21 and 28 carrying the belt 24. Immediately in advance of the roller 25 is a metal chute 29 effective to prevent any excess of the pile-forming material advancing between the belts 23 and 24 from clinging to the belt 23. At the same time the chute 29 brings the pileforming material uniformly to the cutting edge of the bed knife 30 where it is in a position to be cut to proper length by the descending knife 3|. The knife 3i is supported upon a backing plate 32 depending from a cross-head 33 supported from a pair of connecting r015 34 reciprocated vertically by the rotation of a crank shaft 35 axially disposed between vertical standards. 36 of the cutting head assembly.

Turning now to a description of the feed roll I a threaded bolt 44 passing through the split end portions or the ring. Also supported upon the shaft M is a spur gear 45 and a bearing 48, the gear meshing directly with another spur gear 41 disposed immediately above the gear 45 so*as to cause the latter gear to rotate in a direction opposite to that of the direction of rotation of the gear 45. The intermittent advancement of the ratchet 42' is caused by pawl 48 secured upon the opposite end of the pivoted lever 48, the pawl being urged toward the face of the ratchet by spring 89. The intermittent rotation of the ratchet 92 causes the intermittent rotation of the roller 21 and thereby the intermittent advancing of the belts 23 and 24 upon their respective supporting rollers, thus feeding the pile-forming material between such belts. The-brake 43 is effective to prevent retarding rotation of the ratchet 82. Thebrake 43 is secured to the plate l4 by means of the bracket 50.

The eccentric 38 shown in enlarged detail in Fig. 7, for. the purpose of controlling the degree of intermittent forward movement of the roller 2'! and therefore of the two belts 28 and 24, com-.

prises an eccentric bearing member sl idable in a guide or raceway 52, longitudinally of which extends a threaded bolt 53 adjustable by means of its bolt head 54 and collars 55, to increase or diminish the eccentricity (off-center) Coming now to a description of the jaw oper ating mechanism jaws 56 and 51 (Fig. 4) are supported upon the end of a pair of arm 58, the

jaws being illustrated in such figure in open position immediately in front of the bed knife 88. Arms 58 are pivoted about the rocker arm shaft '59. Supported for rotation with the shaft 59 are wheels- 68, the rotation of -which in a clock-wise direction cause the arms 58 to move downwardly fabric into the cement coating of the flexible backing. As will be noted from Fig. 4, the wheels so are keyed to the shaft 59, both the wheels material and to depositthe pile fabric material held between the jaws into the cement. It should be noted that this movement, which may be characterized as an expansion of the length of v the arms is-necessary in order to have the jaws toward the point of deposit of the pile-forming with the rubber cement. Rocker arm 65, rotating about the rocker arm shaft 66, causes the arm 58 in the perpendicular position thereof shown in Fig. 4 and in full lines in Fig. 5 to move downwardly, depositing the pile-forming material held between the jaws into the rubber cement. The

arm 58 continues to move downwardly until the.

pile material is deposited in natural upright position into the cement. Secured to the shaft 68 is a cam roller member 61. having two armsfbne carrying a roller 68 traveling along the face of a cam 69, and a second arm icarrying a .pin l8 to which is anchored one endof a spring ll. Extending from the rocker shaft 66 is anarm 1 2, which, upon rotation-of the rocker arm 65,, has its contact point I8 brought into momentary contact with contact point 14 of. anarm I5 actuating a solenoid switch 16. The actuation of such solenoid switch causes the upward movement of a lever 11, upon the lower extremity of which is secured a pivoted lever 18. The lever '18 operates Coming now to the description of the operation of the jaw mechanism, illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, extending. across the machine and supporting a the jaw arms 58 in a cross arm 85. As such cross arm, by the upward movement of the arms 58, is brought to the position in which the jaws are opposite the point at which they grasp the pileforming fabric, a pair of dogs 86, pivoted about shaft 81, come into supporting contact with the cross arm supporting the jaw arms 58 in proper position while they are operated to clamp between them a quantity of the pile-forming material severed by the knife. Pivoted also upon the shaft 81 is a tripper 88, restrained byspring 88, the tripper being effective to release the dogs 86. As the knife 3| des cends, a screw 98 passing through a bar 9| sec the knife abuts the end of the tripper 88 and causes the releasing 0f the bar 58'from the dogs 86, On the other side pf the machine and se-- cured to. the front face of the knife 3|, shown in dot and dash lines in Fig. 411s positioned a bar similar to the bar 91 havingia threaded bolt or screw passing therethrou'gh, which is effective upon the knife 3| reachingits lowermost position to'close thejaws(seeFig.4).

carried at the ends thereof come to .a point immediately above the coated backing material to deposit the fabric into the coating. As the rollers 8i reach the lower extremities of the cams 82,

they will automatically, by the actions of springs .62, return to their positions against the shoulders of the wheels 68 and ride upwardly on the opposite or interior surfaces of the cams 62. The cams 62 are governed by a spring 63 anchored at one end thereof to the heel portion of thecam and at the other to an adjusting clevis 64. The purpose and function of such adjusting clevis will hereinafter be described in detail, as it forms an important part of my inventive structure.

When the arm 58 is in a perpendicular position immediately above the point of deposit of the pile-forming material, there is a space of approximately of an inchbetween the lower The closing of the jaws on one side of the machine is effected by one of the trigger mechanisms'l9 hereinabove referred to, in the following manner:

The disc 92 has a peripheral notch 93, therein within which rides, limited by the extent of the notch, a pin'94. Extending fromthe disc 92 is a pin 95 abutted by the shoe 96 extending from the companion bolt 91 (correspondingto bolt. up-

on downward movement of the knife 3! (see Fig.

3). The disc 92 is rotated by this abutment, being thrown past its dead center by snap spring 98.

The opening of the jaws is effected by the lever 1.8, operated by the solenoid switch 16', by means of a second trigger mechanism 19. The upward movement of lever 18 causes its end to "abut the pin 99 on the trigger .disc, which operates through notch and pin therein, controlled by the same type of snap spring, to open the jaws.

Near the end of each of the jaw arms 58 is a socket or recess H6 housing a ball and spring structure Ill, which are effective to hold the movable jaw supporting member H8 of the trigfired to the forward face of shaft with a brake I08.

4 asaasca ger mechanism in the position thereof attained upon operation of such trigger mechanism. These ball and spring structures are effective in both the open and closed positions of the jaws.

The flexible backing to which the cementitious material has been'applied at the rear end of the machine, travels forwardly through the machine from the roll it to the point of deposit of the pile fabric material into the cementitious coating thereon, the backing traveling over the surface of a block I having" a slanting forwardedge from which the backing material is pulled byv means of a card wheel IOI1 positioned at the forward edge of the frame I2.

Animportant feature of my invention which contributes in a large measure to the practical utility of my apparatus in the production of dense pile, is the insertion or embedding of the pile-forming elements, of whatever material they may be constituted, but especially when yarns or rovings are used, as in the production of carpets or rugs, at a point immediately and just in advance of the bending of the backing downwardly, as shown, for example, in Figure'll. It will be rooted that the backing'i I, at the pile-forming station, is given an abrupt change in direction of its travel, so that when a row of pile elements, or line of tufts, is inserted just in advance oi the bend, the backing is caused toadvance to bring the previously inserted pile to an inclined position with respect to the jaws. Thus, the embedded row of pile elements is moved out of the path of the jaws and of the pile to be inserted into the cementitious coating to form the next succeeding row of pile. The spacing between the respective rowsof piles can thus be made narrower than without such bend in the backing at the pile-forming station. The card wheel or roll IOI is provided with needle-like carding pins I02 of conventional form and configuration, the wheel being supported upon a shaft I03 rotating in a bearing I 04. The card roll drive comprises a spur gear I05 meshing with a'spur gear I06 mounted upon the same Secured for rotation upon the shaft I09 .is a ratchet wheel I I0 intermittently advanced by means of pawl III urged to- I ward the ratchet wheel by spring I I2, the pawl being pivoted upon the upper end of a lever II3 pivoted centrally upon the shaft I09, the other end of the lever H3 pivoted to a reciprocating lever H4. The other end of such reciprocating lever is secured to the companion adjustable eccentric II5 upon the main shaft, controlling the throw of the pawl and ratchet. The card wheel take-up mechanism just described is illustrated in enlarged detail in Fig. 9.

Turning now to a, description of the main driving mechanism for the apparatus, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, at the opposite side of the machine from that at which is positioned the feed roll drive, there is secured to the main shaft 31, a sprocket I20. Over such sprocket moves the main driving sprocket chain I21, the'path of which is shown'in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The chain travels over an idler sprocket I22 to tak up slack therein and thence to the sprocket I23 secured to the crank shaft 35 to drive the same, and then downwardly below sprocket I24 and over sprocket I25. From sprocket I25 is operated the jaw guide shaft I20, rocked, in quarter throw, by gear I2I. The rocking motion of gear HT is eil'ected by-cam I28 over the surface of which rides roller I29 secured to pivoted arm I30, the freeend of which is urged toward the surface of cam I28 by the above description of the various elements of my novel apparatus and their functions, to make it unnecessary to give any detailed description of the operation. In rsum, it may be described briefly as follows:

The quantity of pile-forming material enters the machine between the pair of endless belts 23 and 24 from which it is brought to a position upon the bed knife 20 to be cut to proper lengths by the descending knife 3 I. The jaws 00, I1, supported at the end of arms 88 are in open positIon immediately in front of the bed knife 30. The strip of pileforming material projecting forwardly of the bed knife is clamped between the jaws as they are closed. During the descent of the knife 3|, the upper jaw 58 is closed at the instant the knife 3| cuts off the projecting portion of the pile-forming material. After clamping of the cut-oi! material between the jaws, wheel 80 rotates about its shaft 59, the arms 08 traveling downwardly .toward the point of deposit. The movement of the rollers 6| along the outer surface of cams 62 causes the arms 58 to move a slight distance downwardly depending upon the ately over the point of deposit. The clevis 64 is capable of adjustment by means of its arcuate slot and adjusting bolt passing therethrough.

The clevis 64 carries the cam 62. Adjustment of the clevis to different positions horizontally (see Fig. 4) is necessary in order to have the roller 8|, when the arms 58 are in vertical, pile-depositing, position, and after deposition of the pile material, permit withdrawal of such arms 58 upwardly. The further movement of the arms to compensate for the slight distance between the a lower portion of the supply of pile-forming material to be deposited and the top of the cementcoated flexible backing is caused by rocker 85. The arms 58 to which the jaws 58, 51 are attached continue to travel downwardly after the pile-forming material has been deposited until the opening of the jaws, when the rollers BI move back against the flange of wheel 60, the rollers returning along the inner faces of the cams 62 to bring the jaws again to material-clamping position. This return of arms 59 immediately subsequent to the action of rocker arm 85, is caused by the action of springs 02': one end of each of which is anchored to wheels 00 and the other end to pins extending from the arms 58. At this time the knife 3| returns to its original position and the repetition of the cycle of operation is in order. 7

It will be noted that the pile-forming elements, prior to embedding in the cementitious coating and at the station where the embedding is to be effected, is in a substantially vertical position adjacent to and spaced from the coating and that upon the action of the trigger mechanism, the lower free ends of the vertically positioned pileforming'elements are embedded in the cementitious coating to produce a substantially upright pile.

The cementitious composition is deposited upon the upper surface of the flexible backing in a manner which will be clear from the drawings and description. The backing is moved forwardly, by means of the card wheel, its operating asaasos mechanism, and take-up mechanism, over the block I00. It will be noted that the front Portion of such block is slanted from a point constituting the jaws can be brought into exact perpendicular relation to the flexible backing and, the cementitious coating thereon, wherebyauniform deposition of the fibers in substantially upright p sition is secured so as to yield a sturdy and durable pile fabric of natural appearance.

Upon completion of this cycle of operation, the movements of the various elements and parts are repeated, giving a continuous and uninterrupted operative character to the complete apparatus in producing any desired length of pile material dependent only upon the character of the pileforming material or mixtures of such material used. It is to be noted that-variegated designs, shadings, and structural compositions may be secured by merely changing the character, as to shading, configuration, disposition, or actual componency, of the pile material introduced between the feeding belts.

The pile material thus produced isthen fed, as shown in Fig. 1 into an oven or any suitable heating apparatus I82 inwhichthe solvent of the ocmentitious material is evaporated. From such heat-treating unit I32,-the material is fed into and through any conventional vulcanizing apparatus I33, in which the circuit of the pile fabric is of sufficient length tocompletely vulcanize the rubber cement. Preferably, after the material has been passed through the vulcanizer, the pile fabric is combed and brushed by comb I34 and brush I35. The material is now ready for the market. I

In Fig. 12, I have illustrated schematically the feeding of a plurality of yarns or rovings, which "are to constitute the pile in a product such as a rug or carpet, to the severing station at which a knife severs a quantity of such yarns or rovings and 24, quantities of yarns or rovings are severed from the supply by the knife blade 3I in the manner heretofore desc'ribedwith respect to the supplying of pile-forming material in the general description of the apparatus. 1

My novel apparatus, in substantially the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings and hereinabove described, is suitable for the fabrication,-in accordance with my novel method, of any width of pile material, including the broadloom size in which carpets and rugs are conventionally fabricated. While I have described a specific embodiment of an apparatus utilizing my invention, it i's-obvious that various modifications therein,

particularly in the configuration, arrangement and construction of the several parts thereof, may

be made without departing from my invention. I am particularly aware of the fact that various additional supports and controlling mechanisms maybe advantageously embodied in the structure, especially in adapting the apparatus for use in the fabrication of material of substantial width. For the purposes, however, of an adequate disclosure, it is believed that the particular embodiment of my apparatus selected for illustration, fairly, represents a practical and commercially operable structure.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art, that the novel process and apparatus herein described and illustrated is equally capable of use in the fabrication of artificial fur, carpets, rugs,

from the supply. In such figure, I36 designates a plurality of spools or yarns of which, of course, any appropriate number may be mounted upon suitable supports such as beams, upon which the spools may rotate, the individual yarns or rovings I3'I being fed to a conventional reed I38 and then over a yarn supporting bar I39 by primary feed rollers I40 which may be rubber covered to supply the needed friction. Thev pile-forming elements I31 consist of a plurality of individual yarns (this expression is used generically as defined hereinfurther downward movement of said jaws to embed the free ends of such severed portion in sub- 1 mats, and any pile material such, for instance, as

.is suitable for use as an insulatingor soundproofing or sound-deadening material.

I claim:

1. The method of making a'p'ile'material in. a substantially continuous cyclic series of operations, which comprises feeding a backing having a cementitious coatingthereon with said coating in position toreceive the pile forming elements, intermittently feeding a pluralityof pile-forming elements to'a station at which the leading edge 1 of the elements extends beyond a support and is to be grasped by a pair of clamping Jaws, severing such leading edge portion of the pile-forming elements'while such elements are clamped between said jaws, moving such severedportion from the'severing station to a position with the lower free ends of the said elements at substantially right angles'to and spaced from the point on the backing at which the said pile formin elements are to be deposited, and causing the stantially upright position'of the fibers of said above) arranged in parallel relationship in the horizontal or other appropriate plane, and in this condition, presented to the knife at the severing station. Of course, the parallel arrangement of the yarns is maintained while they are gripped by the jaw elements. From the primary feed rollers I40, the yarns or rovings pass'under a tension roller I4 I tensioned by a spring I42 and then under idler rollers I43 and l44 to any conventional form of expansion reed I45. This'reed, which may be of any well-known construction, is used to regulate the amount of yarn ends per inch. From such expansion reed, the yarns or rovings are passed between the endless belts 23 and 24, comprising a traveling apron or yarn feed, motivated by rollers 25, 26 and 21. As the yarns or rovings issue from between the endless belts 23 pile-forming elements intothe cementitious com position.

2. The method of making a pile material in a substantially continuous cyclic series of operations, which-comprises intermittently feeding a flexible backing sheet to a pile-forming station,

applying to and uniformly spreading a cementitious composition upon said backing to coat the upper surface thereof in advance of said pile- ,forming station, intermittently feeding a plurality of pole-forming elements to a station at which the leading edge of the elements extends beyond a support and is tobe grasped by a pair of clamping jaws, severing such leading edge portion of the pile-forming elements while such portion is clamped between said'jaws, moving such severed portion from the severing station to a position with'the lower free ends of the said elements at substantially right angles to and spaced from the point on the backing at which the said pile which comprises means for intermittently feeding a flexible backing, uniformly coated with a cementitious composition, to a pile-forming station, a pair of endless belts for feeding a plurality of fiber elements, to constitute the pile, to a severing station, a pair of jaws for grasping the leading edge of such fiber elements at the sever- I ing station, means for severing a predetermined length thereof from the fiber elements, means for depositing the severed fibers upon the coated backing in substantially upright position, and

- means for causing a further movement of said Jaws toward the backing to effect embedding of the free ends of ,said fibers in the cementitious composition coating said flexible backing.

4. An apparatus for continuously producing a pile material which comprises means for intermittently feeding a flexible backing, uniformly coated with a cementitious composition, to a pileforming station, a pair of endless belts intermitently operated for feeding a plurality of fiber elements, to constitute the pile, to a severing station, a pair of laws for grasping the leading edge of such fiber element at the severing station, means for-severing a predetermined length thereof from the fiber elements, means for moving said jaws successively to a position with the lower free ends of said elements at substantially right angles to and spaced from the point on the cementitious coating at which the said pile forming elements are to be deposited in substantially upright position, and means for causing a further "movement of said Jaws toward the backing to effect embedding of the free ends of said fibers in the cementitious composition coating said flexible backing,

5. An apparatus for producing a pile material in a continuous cyclic series of operations, which comprises means for feeding a flexible backing to a pile-forming station, means for applying a coating uniformly to one surface of said flexible backing, means for feeding a plurality of fiber elments, to constitute the pile, to a severing station, means for grasping the leading edge of such fiber elements while being severed, means for severing a predetemiined length thereof from the fiber elements, means for transporting and depositing the severed fibers upon the coated backing in a position perpendicular to the plane of the backing, means for advancing the severed fibers in such perpendicular position to have their free ends completely embedded in the coating of said flexible backing, means for evaporating the solvent of said coating composition, and means for fixing the composition to cause permanent securement of the fibers to the coated backing. r

6. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 5, means for causing the intermittent feeding of the plurality of fiber elements to the severing station.

7. An apparatus for producing a pile fabric which comprises means for feeding a backing having a cementitious coating thereon with said coating in position to receive the pile-forming elements, means for conducting the pile-forming elements to a substantially vertical position with aasasee the lower free ends of said elements at substantially right angles to and spaced from the point on the cementitious coating at which said pile forming elements are to be deposited, and means for thereafter imparting to said pile-forming elements a further downward movement to force the embedding of the lower free ends of said pileforming elements into said cementitious coating. 8. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 6, means for adjusting the degree of penetration of the fiber elements into the cementitious composition of the flexible backing.

9. An apparatus for producing a pile material which comprises means for intermittently feeding a flexible backing, uniformly coated with a cementitious composition, to a pile-forming station, a pair of endless belts forfeeding a supply of fiber elements, to constitute the pile, to a severing station, a pair of Jaws for grasping the leading edge of such fiber elements at the severing station, means for severing a quantity of fibers from said supply, means for depositing said severed fibers upon the coated backing in substantially upright position, means to cause further movement of said depositing means toward said backing, thereby embedding the free ends of said fibers in the cementitious composition coating said flexible backing, and means for securing the adjusting of 'the throw of the clamp! ing jaws in effecting the deposition of the fiber elements upon and into. the cementitious composition of the flexible backing.

10. An apparatus for producing a pile material which comprises means for intermittently feeding a flexible backing, uniformly coated with a cementitiouscomposition, to a pile-forming stathe jaw arms into said notch, means for severing a quantity of fibers from said supply, and means for depositing said severed fibers upon the coated backing in substantially upright position, said means also, upon further movement thereof toward said backing embedding the free ends of said fibers in the cementitious composition coating said flexible backing.

11. An apparatus for continuously producing a pile material which comprises means for intermittently feeding a flexible backing, uniformly coated with a cementitious composition, to a pileforming station, a pair of endless belts intermittently operated for feeding a supply of fiber elements, to'constitute the pile, to a severing station,-an eccentric for controlling the degree of intermittent forward movement of the pile material feeding mechanism, a pair of laws for grasping the leading edge of such fiber elements at the severing station, means for severing aquantity of fibers from said supply, and means for moving said jaws successively to a position immediately above the flexible backing for depositing said severed fibers upon the coated backing in substantially upright position, said means also, upon further movement thereof toward said backing, for embedding the .free ends of said fibers in the cementitious composition coating said flexible backing.

12. In an apparatus for producing a pile material, a card wheel for advancing a flexible backing into the apparatus, mechanism for applying a coating of cementitious material to one surface of said backing, a pair of belts for advancing intermittently a supply of fiber elements to constitute the pile, a pair of knives for severing a mat from the source of fiber elements, a pair of jaws for clamping the severed mat, mechanism fortransporting such severed mat, while heldbetween said jaws, to a position immediately above the coated flexible backing, mechanism for causing the jaws to move downwardly to embed the free ends of the fibers of the severed mat into the cementitious coating of the bac inhnd means for releasing said jaws upon the deposition of the mat into the cementitious composition.

13. In an apparatus for producing a pile material, a card wheel for advancing ailexible backing into the apparatus, a take-up mechanism for said card wheel, mechanism for applying a uniform coating of cementitious material to one surface of said backing, a pair of rubberized fabric belts above the path of the backingfor advancing intermittently a substantially fiat web of fiber elements to constitute the pile, means in ad vance of one of said belts to prevent the bunching of said fibers in front of and the clinging thereof to said belts, a pair of knives for severing a mat from the leading edge of said web of flber elements, a pair of jaws for clamping the severed mat, mechanism for transporting such severed mat, while held between said jaws, to. a position immediately above the coated flexible backing, mechanism for causing the jaws to move downwardly to embed the mat clamped therebetween into the cementitious material coating the backing, and means for releasing said jaws upon the deposition of the mat into the composition.

14. An apparatus for producing a pile material which comprises means for feeding a flexible backing to a. pile-forming station, means for applying a cementitious coating uniformly to one surface of said flexible backing, means for feeding a supply of fiber elements, to constitute the pile, to a severing station, a pair of pivoted arms, a pair of jaws secured to said arms for grasping the leading edge of such supply of fiber elements, means for severing a quantity of fibers from said supply, means for depositing said severed fibers upon the coated backing in substantially upright position, means for causing further movement of said jaws toward the point of deposit of the fibers to embed the free ends of said fibers in the cementitious coating of said flexible backing, and means for releasing and returning said jaws to 1 their fiber-clamping position. i

15. An apparatus as claimed in claim 14 in which the means for returning the jaws upon embedding the fibers in the cementitious composition to their positions immediately above the backing comprises a rocker arm and cam.

16. An apparatus as claimed in claim 14 including a cross arm connecting the jaw supporting arms, a pair of dogs for retaining said cross arm in fiber clamping position of the jaws and a tripper for releasing said dogs and therefore said cross arm.

1'7. The method of making a pile fabric which elements at substantially right angles to and spaced from the point on the cementitious coating at which said pile forming elements are to be deposited, and thereafterimparting to said pileforming elements a further movement to force the embedding of the lower free ends of said vertically positioned pile-forming elements into said cementitious coating.

18. The method of making a pile fabric which comprises feeding a backing having a cementi tious coating thereon by a step-by-step movement to a position to receive the pile-forming elements, simultaneously feeding the pile-forming elements to a substantially vertical position with the lower free ends of said elements at substantially right angles to and spaced from the point on the cementitious coating at which said pile forming elementsare to be deposited, and

while the coated backing is at rest, causing the.

lower free ends of the pile-forming elements to penetrate the surface of said coating to insert and embed the lower free ends of said pile-formtially vertical position with the lower free ends of said elements at substantially right angles to and spaced from the point on the cementitious coating at which said pile forming elements are to bedeposited, imparting to said backing an abrupt change in direction of movement atthe point at which it is to receive the pile-forming elements and means for causing, while the coated backing is at rest, the lower free ends of the pileforming elements to penetrate the surface of said coating, whereby the lower free ends of said pileforming elements are inserted and embedded in said coating.

20, The method of making a pile fabric which comprises successively severing sections, constituting a line. of tufts, from the leading edge of a longitudinally and intermittently moving web of pile forming elements, moving such successively severed sections, as a line of tufts, to a pileforming station, intermittently feeding a cementitious coated flexible backingto a substantially vertical position adjacent to but spaced from the ends of said elements, imparting to said backing an abrupt change in direction of movement at the point at which it is to receive the pile-forming elements, and causing by the further, and subsequent movement of said elements toward said backing, the embedding of the lower free ends of such sections of pile-forming el m in substantially upright position of the fibers, in the cementitious coating of said backing, one section immediately rearwardly of another, evapocomprises feeding a backing having a cementitious coating thereon wlth said coating in position to receive the pile-forming elements, conrating the solvent of the cementitious coating and vulcanizing the coating, with the fibers embedded therein, to form a continuous strip of pile filliii'ic of uniformdensity, pile height, and dura- 21. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 7, means for adjusting the degree of penetration of the fiber elements into the cementitious coating of the flexible backing.

VICTOR A. VICTOR. 

